help... snows coming & the ck20 will not run

jimb1724 · Jan 22, 2005

i need some help from those with diesel experience... it's been bitterly cold the last few days (-15F at night 0F during the day)... and it's snowing pretty hard right now... anyway, i went out to run the ck20 and it started, but stalled right out... as i expected, the filter was gelled... i took it off and cleaned it.... let it thaw out in the house for a while.... then i poured some anti gel additive over the filter then put it back on... tractor started, but wouldn't stay running... now i am thinking that i might have some bad fuel (it has been above temps up until now, so i never thought about adding the anti gel additive to the full tank of diesel on the tractor.... )
does anyone have some ideas that i should try..... i really need that rig running tommorow to move some snow..... also, what is the replacement fuel filter part # ? thanks....
jim

JimR · Jan 22, 2005

Heat the filter up and blow it out with an air gun. Pour a gallon of kerosene into your tank to thin out your diesel. You will be back in business for the snow. We are getting hit pretty hard right now in central Ma.

jimb1724 · Jan 22, 2005

JimR
thanks, i'll try that in the morning... do you run a mix of diesel and kerosene all winter? if so, do you still use an anti gelling additive ?

goold luck with your snow.... i heard you guys were going to get hit preety hard.....

thanks

jimb

JimR · Jan 22, 2005

JimB,

I only run kerosene if I have a problem like you mention. I did have this same problem when I was running home heating oil. I do not use an anti-gel additive. I run only pump diesel now. It is much cleaner and I have had no more problems with sputtering and dirty clogged fuel filter.

Bob_Skurka · Jan 22, 2005

We run a fleet of diesel trucks, our biggest problem with gelling in diesel fuel is in the fuel lines and the filter. You cleaned out the filter. You may still need to deal with your fuel lines. First, I would do exactly what you were instructed to do in the previous post. If you don't have access to Kero, then get some commercial anti-gel. PowerService is the best known brand, but any of the anti-gel products should work. Second, you need to get the fuel lines as warm as you possibly can (without starting a fire or doing anything that would be risky). If your tractor is in a garage, shed or barn then you need to get a heat source somewhere near it, radient heat works well. In the worst case you can use something as simple as your wife's hair dryer.

The problem is that when the temps get as low as they are, you need to get the gelled fuel out of those fuel lines. Put kero or anti-gel in the fuel and try to start the tractor. If it will stay running then you are in great shape, the process of running will bring thinned fuel into the lines, once you have that you should be in pretty good shape. The gelled fuel in the fuel lines can prevent fuel flow from the tank.

jimb1724 · Jan 22, 2005

Bob

thanks for your reply... i do have some kero so i will add it the morning... if i can keep it running long enough i will put it in the garage and try to warm it up with the kero heater.. safely of course....

thanks again
jim

Bob_Skurka · Jan 22, 2005

Add the kero NOW. The temps will drop all night and the situation could easily compound. If you thin the fuel now, it will have time to dilute through the tank. Tomorrow when you start the tractor, the the fuel will already be thinned and you will have a better chance of keeping it running.

KiotiJohn · Jan 23, 2005

Jim, I was just wondering why you're having a gelling problem. Are you using fuel that was bought in the summer? The distributors of diesel fuel usually have the winter blend at the pump this time of year, I suppose starting with the first cold weather.
Generally speaking, I believe you should make the mix 80/20 diesel/kero. That's the figure I've read is the mix from distributors. Bob and others have given you good advice. Let us know how it goes. Stay warm! John

Bob_Skurka · Jan 23, 2005

<font color="green"> I was just wondering why you're having a gelling problem. Are you using fuel that was bought in the summer? The distributors of diesel fuel usually have the winter blend at the pump this time of year </font>

<font color="red"> it's been bitterly cold the last few days (-15F at night 0F during the day) </font>

John & Jim, the diesel blend is available at most local gas stations and truck stops is typically not good enough for weather that is that cold, at least it is not good enough in the greater Chicago <northern 1/2 of Illinois, northern 1/2 of Indiana, lower Michigan & lower Wisconsin> fuel market where my fleet runs.

When the temps have a HIGH in the single digets, the fuel needs some additional help. And if you have bio-diesel it actually needs additional help when the temps are in the upper 20's. The biggest problems we face are when the temperatures are low for prolonged periods lasting several days. As I have said in other threads, our biggest problems are not gelling in the tank, they are gelling in the fuel lines. Fuel lines are often more exposed, have a very high surface to contents ratio and can clog up easily and when that happens there is NO WAY to get fuel from the tank to the engine. Cleaning out the filter doesn't resolve the problem, it simply gives you a clean filter that can't get fuel because the inflowing fuel line is clogged. If you are lucky the lines are not completely gelled, once you get "thinned" or "treated" fuel flowing thru them, they will slowly open up and you won't have a problem.

Generally when the temps drop into the "teens" we treat our fleet trucks with an anti-gel product. My tractors are kept in unheated garages, I worry less, but still typically treat the fuel if I know the temps are going into the teens and I get worried if the temps are dropping to Zero and I didn't treat the fuel yet. Much of this depends on your fuel source and how well it was treated by the fuel supplier who delivered it to you or to the gas station you bought it from.

jimb1724 · Jan 23, 2005

KiotiJohn and Bob

i just purchased some diesel from the local station... however, it was a separate pump, by the regular gas pumps.... not the pumps where the trucks fill..... i'm wondering if the fuel wasn't winter grade ? i don't know if the pump i used feeds off of the same underground tank.... i would think it does....

anyway, as Bob said, when the temps get this low everything needs a little extra help.... i've learned my lesson.... i'll be using the additive year round, plus a higher mix starting in october.....

thanks everyone for your responses...... i'm still trying to get it running smooth.... can't get it warm enough yet...

jimb